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BMT has announced that it will take the lead in a £1.8 million Vessel Technology Assessment System (VTAS) project. The work has been commissioned and funded by the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) and will be delivered in partnership with Black & Veatch. The primary objective is to assist financiers to understand and confidently quantify the benefits of investing in fuel efficient technologies for existing and future vessels, thus accelerating the deployment of viable fuel-efficient technologies.

David Butler, Project Manager for HDV marine efficiency at the ETI says: “Maritime transport emits around 1000 million tonnes of CO2 annually and is responsible for about 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, the International Maritime Organisation states that emissions could rise by 50 - 250% by 2050 compared to 2011 levels. Therefore, the efficient use of fuel through the implementation of energy saving devices (ESDs) will be critical to the future affordability, security and sustainability of maritime transport.”

BMT, in partnership with Black & Veatch, will look to create independent, transparent and insightful information to engage and support stakeholders and decision makers who can positively influence commercial shipping to reduce fuel consumption. This will support and promote the drive to change the way in which the world’s shipping power and propulsion is designed and operated. The project will focus on characterising and addressing perceived barriers to the adoption of ESDs, providing data driven technical models of individual ships and dovetailing this with the necessary financial modelling to help capture the CAPEX and operational issues accurately.

BMT and Black & Veatch will, during the course of the project, establish a presence in the commercial shipping market that will provide enduring support and continue to promote adoption of ESDs beyond the completion of the VTAS project.

John Buckingham at BMT explains: “There is a choice of ESDs within the commercial shipping market such as Flettner rotors, high efficiency propellers and wingsail technologies and yet, the uptake to date has been somewhat slow, due to the perceived technical and financial risks of implementing these technologies. Through improved ship-based modelling, assessments and data validation, this project will allow us to explore the options and provide independent evidence that stakeholders can trust to make an informed decision.”

ETI’s David Butler adds: “We hope that this project will help to tackle the market barriers that currently exist which limit the uptake of cost-effective fuel efficiency technologies. Combining this project with our current £10m portfolio of demonstrations in the areas of Flettner rotor sails, high efficiency propulsion systems and new waste heat recovery technology, will help us reach our target of a 30% improvement in fuel efficiency for marine vessels.”

Interest in this project can be registered at: www.fuelefficientshipping.com and regular updates on the development of this ground-breaking project will be made available.